Jack Dorsey on Shadowbanning

Chris Murphy on Social Media Censorship

Gabbing about the Capricious Cupertino Walled Garden of Apple

Gab is a new micoblogging site which was started in the summer of 2016 as conservative voices experienced cyber-censorship about content from social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter.  Gab wants to create a cyber community which users can speak freely and exercise their own judgment to filter content. 

Gab started with a beta platform geared towards personal computers.  However, since the growth in social media is associated with mobile internet applications, Gab has sought to get approval from Apple to have their app approved to be available in Apple app store.

Because Gab encourages members to #SpeakFreely, they do not want to censor content created by Gab users, as long it conforms to US law and the Constitution regarding obscenity and pornography.  In rare instances, the Gab platform would allow for legal pornography as long as it was tagged #NSFW (not safe for work).  But this loophole created the first objection for the Apple App Review team.  To resolve this, Gab linked their EULA agreement, albeit outside of the app.  The allowed for the second rejection, which was easily abated. 

What has raised eyebrows is the tardy and hypocritical third rejection by the app team. Ordinarily, apps are evaluated within 24 hours.  For Gab's third app submission, it took 17 days. In addition, it was rejected on the grounds that "We found references to religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, or other targeted groups that could be offensive to many users."

So Gab is supposed to play nanny to user epithets and ideas which an aggrieved internet denizen could find offensive.  But Gab allows its users to filter out content which they do not want to see, but the powers that be in Cupertino do not want their i-Phone/i-Pad users to be scandalized by material in Gab (which they could filter out themselves).  

Is the same stringent Cupertino standard applied to Madonna's post Women's March musings?  

Wonder why?  Is Twitter going to have their app taken away for the rude ravings of an aged Material Girl who creates controversy on social media to seem contemporary?

Gab CEO Andrew Torba wonders if the third rejection of Gab's app was timed to coincide with President Trump's first full day in office and was meant to sent a message.  Torba asserted: 

"This clear double standard against us is potentially politically motivated and clearly targeted. When you actively search for something on a user generated website, chances are you're going to find what you are looking for."

Progressives sought to kill Gab by claiming that it was only for the alt-right and that it lacked diversity, which fails when one considers that Gabs leadership team is comprised of an American Christian, a Turkish Muslim Kurd and an Indian Hindu.  Since the slimming was unsuccessful, it seems that progressive companies are seeking to deny Gab from tools to grow their user base by any means necessary.

With the shadow-blocking and capricious shunnings by big social media, those who want to share opinions which challenge the standard assumptions of progressive elites, they may look to social media alternatives such as Gab.  Alas, Apple continues to make access restricted inside the walled garden

Andrew Torba on Free Speech in Social Media

Richard Spencer on Digital Execution

Aw Huck, Not More Cornpone!

The Democrats held their first Primary "Debate" (more of a candidate forum) at a Las Vegas casino. Most political pundits expected a snoozefest which lays a foundation to a Primary Coronation.

So that Republicans did not totally cede the news cycle to a progressive politics lovefest, a couple of Republican aspirants to the Oval Office took to Twitter to counter-program by chiming in on the process. It was a cheap way to gain attention and get the message out, going over the heads of the established media through the new media.

Donald Trump made headlines with his announcement that he would live tweet the event.  Former Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR) also wanted to get in on the action.  The latter leader's sharing seems to epitomize his campaign thus far--  cornpone slung just to win attention.

Take some of the @GovMikeHuckabee tweets--

They seemed like stale standbys to get some yucks. But unlike Huckabee's two debate performances when he dished out canned ham, it seems that the self nicknamed "Duck Hunter" did actually seem to watch the Democrat Debate.

That being said, Huckabee tried to be funny rather than to score points with his big campaign themes. 


In contrast, Donald Trump tried to steal the spotlight by starting with his star-appeal schtick thru @realDonaldTrump tweets--

Trump used social media to leverage his message by retweeting others who echoed or enhanced his memes and campaign messaging, whereas Huckabee basically used Twitter as a platform to share his pre-scripted one liners.

However, it looked like Donald Trump was genuinely reacting to the debate.  His social media responses reinforced his campaign messages on immigration, Washington is broken, helping Veterans and Hillary's hypocrisy.

One indication that Trump was not totally rehearsed in his responses is a short missive "Good move by Bernie S." that has no reference point, hash tags or even Twitter handles.  Presumably, this was when Senator Bernie Sanders (Socialist-VT) said: "Enough with the emails already!".

On the one hand, Trump generated excitement with his social media participation in the Democrat Debates with authenticity, branding and passively marketing his message. On the other hand, Huckabee served up more cornpone which were groaners to political pundits but did little to advance his own message via social media.

With the revised qualifications for the CNBC debate, this might be one of the last servings of cornpone and canned ham from the Huckster.


Post Scriptus 10/15:  Governor Huckabee has raised the hackles of #BlackLivesMatter activists on social media for his tweet "I trust @berniesanders with my tax dollars like I trust a North Korean chef with my Labrador" as being racist.  

The Huckabee campaign would not back down from this quip.  In an email, the campaign asserted: "Poor liberals, no sense of humor and no sense of reality.  Leave it to liberals to ignore injustices and atrocities of a totalitarian nation on human beings and put more importance on a nations diet which includes grass clippings and canines. Facts: North Koreans eat dog and Bernie Sanders wants to spend 18 trillion dollars of your money. What's so hard to understand?"

Where these social media activists went awry was claiming that the quip was racist instead of being more canned ham from the Huckster.

Frank Luntz on House Speaker's Race

George Pataki Comes Out of Social Media to Defend Caitlyn (ne Bruce) Jenner

 What a way for a Republican Presidential candidate like former Governor George Pataki (R-NY)  to attract attention.  Pataki took to social media to indirectly criticize former Governor Mike Huckabee's (R-AR) snarky cultural comment and allying with a celebrity celebrating his/her transgender metamorphosis.

 Somehow, this seems even less likely to score with the Republican base than Senator Rand Paul implying that the GOP was responsible for ISIS. While Huckabee's flippant comment may mock, it does so to bolster a broader theme about defending traditional values, offers a reductio ad absurdum over the California transgender bathroom choice law and shows a sense of humor.  Pataki's comments seem steeped in political correctness, play upon celebutard worship and seem desperate for attention.

If Bruce Jenner wanted to preserve his dignity and be a positive role model, perhaps he should have avoided posing for Playgirl in 1982 or not starred on E! television's Keeping Up with the Kardashians or allowed himself to be exploited by the media as he finalizes his transgendering process.

Civility is a much needed quality in public discourse and unwarranted ad hominem insults ought to be avoided. But it is distressing that a conservative governor like George Pataki would be afraid to allow anyone to voice opinions on behaviors that are contrary to their own druthers.